Duck eggs/broody duck?

[Amrobblee]

Hi, new duck mom here! So a little background, I started with 2 Swedish and 2 Khaki Campbell’s and I ended up with 3 males and one female and although I haven’t had any issues with my first 4 yet, I felt it would be best to introduce a couple more females. In my search for females I found a lone Pekin duck, who the family said was very sad after losing his 3 siblings so I decided to pick him up when I picked up my 2 new adult females. I was told the 2 new females were already laying but only one has been laying an egg everyday (I’ve only had them 3 weeks so I’m trying to be patient lol) but the one who is laying has no interest in any of my other ducks except the new male Pekin and they bonded almost immediately. So now my Pekin chases all the other ducks around the yard (males and females) until he catches one and pins them down aggressively but he is so gentle and loving with my laying duck... sorry for the long post but I’m brand new to eggs and the process and would love a better understanding. Can we just eat any egg she lays and how do I know if they’re fertilized? And how do I know if she’s broody? We are going to try to let her hatch her own eggs next spring. She made herself a little nest under one of my bushes and I always feel so bad taking her eggs because she watches me every time I pick them up, she’s even made herself a new nest somewhere else (I couldn’t find her eggs for a couple days) could someone explain how hatching/incubating works? And should I give my Pekin more time or will he always be this aggressive? He’s only been here a few weeks and my other ducks are terrified of him which is weird because one of my Swedish males was the aggressor at first.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

just wanted to say 4 boys will not work with just 3 girls. they’ll kill the girls.

 

[Amrobblee]

Only the new male is aggressive and the other males have no interest at all in my females but I have done my research and I still keep them separated at night when I can’t supervise to be safe. I intend on adding more females next spring, you’re saying their temperament will change even though they are fully grown now?

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

Only the new male is aggressive and the other males have no interest at all in my females but I have done my research and I still keep them separated at night when I can’t supervise to be safe. I intend on adding more females next spring, you’re saying their temperament will change even though they are fully grown now?

yes. next spring all the boys will mate with the females, and since they have competition it will be much worse. you should have 3+ girls per drake, so having 4 drakes for 3 girls isn’t gonna end good

 

[Amrobblee]

So what does everyone do when they end up with more males than females from a straight run, rehome them? Seems a little unfair considering I don’t think the female duck population is 3 times the drake population ... and what about removing the females altogether, would there still be aggression between drakes?

 

[Amrobblee]

I ask because I am not willing to part with my 2 Swedish males, I would rather rehome my females.

 

[Trisseh]

Unfortunately most drakes wind up in similar situations to most roosters. Some people do keep all drake flocks or groups though.

if you would rather keep your males and don’t care too much about the eggs, rehome ALL your females and keep the boys. Or set them up with completely separate living arrangements. Boys with no girls around at all generally do fine, although you may get an individual or 2 that just isn’t a good fit for a bachelor group.

spring will be the worst time, at peak mating season. You’ll have all the boys fighting over the girls and overmating all of them. Definitely have a plan in mind to segregate the “extra” boys for the entire duration or else you -will- have problems. If you’re looking to let your girl hatch eggs there will need to be a drake in with her, but if you just leave them all together it’ll be awful for the girls.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

all drake flock! females are super easy to find nice homes for, so just rehome them to somewhere you can still visit them. i used to have an all drake flock, and definitely want to do it again in the future.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So what does everyone do when they end up with more males than females from a straight run, rehome them? Seems a little unfair considering I don’t think the female duck population is 3 times the drake population ... and what about removing the females altogether, would there still be aggression between drakes?

In The wild, nature usually gets rid of lots of males. Plus they're more spread out. In captivity, the hens can only escape so far from the males

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

In The wild, nature usually gets rid of lots of males. Plus they're more spread out. In captivity, the hens can only escape so far from the males

even in the wild the males can be mean... last year one of my boys made friends with a pair of mallards. the wild female nested in our yard, and the wild male stayed close and hung out with my boys. two other wild drakes would come like everyday and chase the female for hours